2012 Youth Report - Children International

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2012 Youth Report

Taking Charge of Change

Table of Contents Introduction: In the Service of Youth 3 Reversing the Effects of Poverty 4 Establishing a History of Good Health 8 Youth Health Corps: An Army of Advocates 9 Education: Focusing on School Completion 11 “Firewood Doesn’t Pay for School” 12 The Making of Model Citizens 14 “Looking Beyond My Own Needs” 16 Reaching Potential Through Physical Fitness 17 Job Training That Pays 18 Banking on Financial Freedom 20 Partnerships to End Poverty 21 The Power of Participation 22

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Introduction:In the Service of Youth Rescuing young people from poverty is no simple feat. It takes a tremendous amount of time and

resources. It also takes a network of caring individuals working together to reverse years of deeply

entrenched social barriers.

As a professional educator, I’ve spent my career developing and reforming school programs to better

address the needs of underserved and at-risk youth. I’ve seen what it takes to turn those lives around, and I

know what’s at stake.

For a period of time, I coordinated the Los Angeles School District’s afterschool programs, which

serve some 130,000 children and youth in over 550 schools daily. Students help design and take ownership

of their personal progress by participating in activities of their own choosing, supported and mentored

by agencies in their neighborhoods. Their successes are fundamentally improved as a result of that direct

involvement. Equally important is the consistent support they receive from the afterschool staff and other

contributors throughout their communities. Without that, I’m convinced many of the students would not

make it.

Children International empowers youth to take ownership over their lives on a much larger scale. By

providing a community of support to young people living in some of the worst poverty imaginable, CI

gives youth the resources, services, skills, self-confidence and courage to overcome the social barriers that

surround them. And they do all that from early childhood through late adolescence.

A visit I took to Children International’s agency in Quito, Ecuador, brought home what seems like

the essence of the organization’s unique success. Those greeting us were not only the staff and the youth,

but the parents and grandparents, women and men who volunteer their time to helping the children in the

program. The room was filled with warmth and pride. It was a community working together to give its

children the foundation upon which their resiliency, educational achievements, leadership abilities and job

skills will rest, a community committed to building healthier and more fulfilling futures for their kids.

In the report that follows, the reader will surely grasp the significance of this model. It addresses

many of the social and economic challenges society is confronting at all levels – in governments, schools

and humanitarian programs. Children International has solutions for these problems. They deserve our

thoughtful attention and support in this effort.

Dick Roberts

Philanthropist & Educator

Dick Roberts coordinated afterschool programs for the Los Angeles Unified School District from 1998 to 2007. He is the chairman of the Sally and Dick Roberts Coyote Foundation and serves on the boards of the Los Angeles County Educational Foundation and the Camerata Pacifica. He also belongs to the California Afterschool Network Leadership Team. Mr. Roberts holds master’s degrees in Counseling and English Literature and credentials in Secondary Teaching, Special Education, Counseling and Administration.

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There’s good reason to be alarmed about the state of

the world’s youth. There are more than 1 billion young

people between the ages of 10 and 19, and nearly 90 percent

are growing up in impoverished areas that fail to support

their most basic needs.1

According to the World Health Organization, children

in developing countries are nearly 18 times more likely to

die before the age of 5 than those in industrialized nations.

And of the approximately 8 million early childhood deaths

Reversing the Effects of Poverty From Early Childhood Through Adolescence

80%of surveyed youth who frequently participate in CI’s programs believe they can stay more positive about themselves.

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(Source: 2011 Children International Youth Survey)

Reversing the Effects of Poverty From Early Childhood Through Adolescencethat occur annually, “over two-thirds are due to conditions

that could be prevented or treated with access to simple,

affordable interventions.”2

Educational outcomes in the developing world don’t

fare much better. Approximately 200 million children under

5 fail to reach their full cognitive potential, UNICEF notes.3

Meanwhile, 67 million primary-school-aged children and 71

million children of lower secondary school age are out of

school, even though education is often compulsory.4

At Children International, we work to alleviate

those negative effects of poverty by providing crucial

assistance to approximately 340,000 children and youth

ages 2 to 19 in 11 countries worldwide, including Chile,

Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala,

Honduras, India, Mexico, the Philippines, Zambia and the

United States.

Children benefit from essential medical, educational

and material aid to help ensure proper growth and

Approximately

340,000 boys and girls participate in Children International’s programs, including more than 158,000 youth ages 12 to 19.

Number of Children & Youth in Our Program*

A. United States 2,765

B. Mexico 16,039

C. Guatemala 30,496

D. Honduras 21,466

E. Dominican Republic 31,113

F. Colombia 44,582

G. Ecuador 56,914

H. Chile 17,807

I. Zambia 16,655

J. India 26,848

K. Philippines 71,146*Approximate numbers as of August 2012

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63%of the youth who completed our 2011 Youth Survey reported that their communities are better places to live due to the program.

development. As they mature, basic assistance is

supplemented with specialized training opportunities

and age-appropriate youth activities that address their

changing needs.

Benefits and services are carried out by 17 agencies

at more than 80 community centers. Newer centers serve

up to 7,000 children and are situated within or near their

neighborhoods. In fact, community involvement is a crucial

component of the support we provide. More than 900

staff members work directly with over 7,000 volunteers,

who themselves are mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles

and grandparents of the children served. Those family

partnerships strengthen Children International’s bond with

communities and promote trust and increased participation.

And participation is key.

The more involved children and youth are in programs

and services, the more likely they are to gain confidence

in themselves and their surroundings, as evidenced by

Children International’s most recent Youth Survey.

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*In 2011, youth in India concentrated their efforts on

community-awareness campaigns and service projects, which

accounts for their higher-than-average results.


Among the 12,000-plus young people who responded, a

clear majority indicated that they have more confidence

in themselves and their communities as a result of their

frequent participation.

Developing confidence is essential to helping youth

in underserved areas establish a more optimistic outlook

on life, become engaged community members, and pursue

their goals. “They see and later begin to be participants and

agents of change in the broader community,” says Dick

Roberts, a member of Children International’s Advisory

Council. “We often forget how much learning takes place

simply by observing, and CI’s children are observing a

community of caring.”

As a result, young people from disadvantaged

communities are being empowered to lead healthier, more

productive lives and are gaining the education and skills

they need to seize job opportunities and become truly self-

sufficient. The pages that follow demonstrate many of those

positive outcomes.

More Than StatisticsAll of the countries where Children International works have very young populations, or populations where many of the citizens are minors. In the four countries listed below, the percentage of the population that is made up of children 0 - 14 years old is as follows:

Guatemala: 38.1%

Zambia: 46.7%

Philippines: 34.6%

India: 29.7%(Source: CIA World Fact Book)

In such places, there is increased competition for jobs as youth grow older. Children International gives youth participants access to the tools they will need to be competitive when the time comes to work or go to college.

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The Advisory CouncilChildren International benefits from the support and

guidance of an 11-member Advisory Council, a group

of distinguished business, civic and professional leaders

who help us reach our strategic goals. The members

provide fundraising leadership and recommendations for

improving programs and community development. They

also serve as ambassadors for Children International

and help spearhead new programs in areas like financial

education and vocational training.

Establishing a History of Good Health Growing up in an impoverished community can be

dangerous. Inadequate sanitation and water services, along

with poor housing conditions, put children at a higher risk

of contracting illnesses like skin and respiratory infections,

diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria and more. To make matters

worse, there are few reliable, accessible medical facilities in

underdeveloped communities.

Children International ensures that all children and

youth in our care have access to medical services. In 2011,

CI provided a total of 421,273 medical exams at its clinics.

In addition to checkups and basic treatment, services

include free medicine and supplies, referrals to specialists,

and financial assistance for urgent and emergency care,

which is administered in cooperation with public and

private health providers. We also carry out parasite and

tuberculosis treatment campaigns to reduce rates of

infection and transmission within communities.

Dental care and nutritional rehabilitation are vital

components of our health

program as well. Dental services

range from cleanings, fluoride

treatments, sealants, to restorative

care and extractions, while our

nutrition program is designed to rehabilitate boys and girls

who suffer from hunger and serious nutritional deficiencies.

Because malnutrition is linked to over one-third of all

child deaths, all children under 12 are screened for signs

of wasting. Children diagnosed with moderate to severe

malnutrition are then enrolled in feeding programs, while

their parents receive nutrition education and instruction.

CI also funds feeding programs at nine community schools

in Lusaka, Zambia. School-based feeding programs have

been shown to increase school enrollment, and in the two

short years we have offered that assistance, average school

attendance at the first five participating schools increased by

approximately 10 percent.

Over time, as children age and require less basic care,

we place a greater emphasis on youth-oriented services such

as prevention of early pregnancy, HIV, substance abuse,

violence and injuries. The youth themselves lead the way

in promoting awareness about age-specific health risks

through their participation in the

Youth Health Corps, highlights

of which are covered on the

next page. 78%of surveyed youth who frequently participate report that they have the ability to stay healthier.

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Youth Health Corps: An Army of Advocates Young people are more likely to seek advice from

their friends and classmates, not adults, when it comes

to the topics of drugs, alcohol and sex. That’s one of the

reasons Children International created the Youth Health

Corps (YHC).

Participants ages 12 and up are trained by adult

facilitators and youth co-facilitators and then share

the lessons they’ve learned about reproductive health,

the dangers of substance abuse, and other essential life

skills with their peers during classroom and community

presentations, theater skits and one-to-one peer interaction.

By the end of 2011, 2,402 peer educators had shared health

messages with 160,662 contacts.

Most significant were the outcomes that followed HIV

training. It’s estimated that 2.2 million adolescents are living

with HIV, the majority being girls who do not know they are

infected.5 At the start of training, only 45 percent of YHC

participants could identify two ways of preventing sexual

transmission of HIV and reject two misconceptions. By the

end of the program, 93 percent were able to do so – and

they will share that information with their peers at their

schools and in their communities.

The chart below illustrates the dramatic increase in pre-

versus post-knowledge of HIV among YHC peer educators

compared to the national averages in countries with high

HIV rates.

Yobanka’s Story To understand how effective YHC messages are,

consider Yobanka’s environment. The Dominican

Republic has the fifth highest adolescent pregnancy rate

among Latin American countries.6 Reports indicate

that 85 percent of girls 17 to 20 years old do not use

contraceptives, while 29 percent of all births in the D.R.

occur within that age range.7

By participating in a YHC workshop about

reproductive health, Yobanka, now 19, learned about

the difficulties of early pregnancy and gained life skills

to help her avoid making the same mistakes many

others her age have made.

“This program has really helped us broaden our

knowledge,” Yobanka remarked. “It is important that

we start to learn about raising children now…so that

we will think carefully before making the mistake of

having unprotected relations…. By not having children

at such a young age, we can go on to prepare ourselves

and study a vocation and start working toward all of the

goals which we want to reach.”

100% 40% 51% 45%

100% 99% 93% 99%

48%

Zambia* Philippines Dominican Republic India

21% 37% 40%

UNAIDS 2010 Country Result

Before YHC Training

After YHC TrainingUnderstanding HIV

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*Due to the prevalence of the disease in Zambia, CI has long promoted awareness and treatment of HIV, which explains the correlation between

pre- and post-knowledge of HIV. (Source: 2011 Children International Annual Report on Program Results)

93% of primary-aged children and 92% of secondary-aged youth supported by CI were enrolled in the 2010-2011 school year.

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(Source: 2011 Children International Annual Report on Program Results)

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Education: Focusing on School Completion Children in underdeveloped countries encounter

barriers to education at an early age. They may not be

allowed to enroll in school without a birth certificate or

other required documentation. (“Over one-third of children

in urban areas go unregistered at birth.”8) Or their parents

may lack the money to cover school fees or pay for a

required uniform and supplies. There’s also a problem of

overcrowding, which limits children’s access to school and

the quality of their education.

Although enrollment in primary schools is on the rise in

much of the developing world, attendance drops off sharply

at the secondary level when young people feel pressured to

leave school and help support their families. Consequently,

if those young people do manage to find work, they are

more apt to enter the informal economy, where they

perform unskilled, short-term labor for low pay, frequently

in poor working conditions.

Each additional year of schooling is therefore essential

to a young person’s progress in life. Studies by the World

Bank have shown that providing girls with one year of

education beyond the average can boost their future wages

by 10 to 20 percent, while money invested in primary

education for boys produces returns of 5 to 15 percent.9

In 2011, we delivered a wide variety of educational

assistance to 300,863 children and youth. Benefits such

as textbooks, school supplies, uniforms, school fees and

transportation expenses help at-risk boys and girls complete

school and meet the United Nations second Millennium

Development Goal of achieving universal primary education.

Among the participating youth who reported finishing

high school in 2011, 59 percent were female and 41 percent

were male. That distinction is noteworthy since we strive

to improve girls’ access to education, especially at the

secondary level. Historically, girls are more likely to be

pulled out of school in order to raise siblings, help with

domestic chores, enter early marriage, or leave school as a

result of early pregnancy. If not for the extra educational

assistance provided by CI, Esther, the Guatemalan youth

featured on the following page, might have been one

of those girls.

300,863children and youth received educational benefits in 2011.

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“Firewood Doesn‘t Pay for School” When Esther was young, she dreamed of finishing

school. “We were nine children, and we were all going to

school…there was nothing else. There were no options for a

career,” Esther explains. “Everything came from the income

of my parents, particularly from my mother, who worked as

a street vendor. My father was a hard worker, but he was a

day laborer, and he didn’t bring home an income. He would

bring corn, beans and firewood, but firewood doesn’t pay

for school.”

Esther was actively participating in the Youth Program

when she first learned about Children International’s HOPE

Fund. She applied for a scholarship, qualified and used the

support she received to continue her education and become

certified in business administration.

“When I graduated, at first I couldn’t believe it,” she

says. “I was hired by a bank, and I started in the customer

service department. Later on…I was promoted to credit

analyst. The general manager developed trust in me,

and every time he needed it, he requested my support to

cover administration areas. Eventually, I was promoted to

assistant manager and a year later to bank manager.”

HOPE, which stands for Helping Overcome Poverty

through Education, is CI’s specialized education program

that helps qualified youth complete secondary school,

receive vocational or technical training, or pursue a

college or university degree. Scholarships are awarded to

marginalized youth who demonstrate initiative and show a

dedication to community service.

Recipients use their scholarships to cover tuition, fees,

transportation, supplies and other related costs. HOPE

scholars can even renew their scholarships for a second year

of study or training if they maintain satisfactory grades and

“I can say that the scholarship was not only a vital aid but a great encouragement to me. Without the support of the

scholarship, I simply do not know where I would be.”

— Esther

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satisfy volunteer requirements, such as tutoring younger

children in the community.

For the 2010-2011 school year, a total of 1,780

scholarships were awarded, or just over half of all the

applications received, due to the overwhelming need for

financial assistance. Approximately 48 percent of the

scholarships were applied to vocational training, followed

by 24 percent for university education and 28 percent for

secondary school completion. Among those, 46 percent

completed their course of study while 34 percent completed

the school year and are eligible to renew their scholarships.

The majority of scholarships – 61 percent – went to girls

like Esther.

86%of frequent program participants report that they are more likely to enroll in a four-year university.

By the BooksA clear majority of frequent program participants were enrolled in school at the time of our 2011 Youth Survey. Reasons for not studying include work and the transition from school to work.



The Making of Model Citizens As you read this, one teenager is talking to another,

dispelling myths about HIV and how it is spread. Across

the world, in a hot, overcrowded slum, a young woman is

attending training workshops and learning new skills she’ll

use to land a good job and work her way out of poverty.

And there’s a group of teenagers cleaning up garbage

and recycling scraps in an urban slum – all in an effort to

promote pride and sanitation in their community.

As many as 158,000 youth are being empowered

through Children International’s comprehensive youth

curriculum, which includes everything from leadership

training, continuing education and organized sports leagues

to health campaigns, community development and financial

and job training.

Boys and girls are inducted into our Youth Program

when they turn 12 and are encouraged to actively participate

until they graduate at age 19. Because children start

receiving support at a very early age, induction to the Youth

Program is an important milestone.

Youth Program participants who want to play a more

active role in the program can run for positions on Youth

Councils, which are democratically elected groups of youth

Empowerment at Work In 2011, Youth Councils used $259,980 to fund and

successfully complete 94 projects.

Popular projects included reforestation efforts in Guatemala and fish and goat farming in India.

75,831 individuals participated in projects worldwide.

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Youth in Action The Youth Council in Lusaka, Zambia, used $4,900 from their Youth

Empowerment Fund to renovate a community school for underserved children in

the deeply impoverished Kanyama community. Council members recruited 200

youth volunteers to help paint the school, purchase desks and replace windows

and doors in the Kanyama ROCS school.

Expressing his gratitude for the Youth Council’s efforts, the school’s head

master, Timothy Shakantu, said, “This is a development we received with an open

heart…because we know that if we have enough desks for all the pupils then our

academic level will improve.”

“This gets at the core of what CI does so wonderfully,” CI Advisory Council

member Dick Roberts adds. “It empowers young people to feel that they

themselves can affect real changes. It gives them the ability to adapt to the world

around them, however constantly changing it actually is. No amount of book

learning can equal hands-on experience.”

at each agency who collaborate with our staff to represent

the interests and needs of their peers. In 2011, 2,975 youth

served as council representatives, while 43,460 youth turned

out to vote in the elections.

Participation in the Youth Councils entails significant

responsibility. Members are tasked with planning and

implementing community service projects using resources

from their respective Youth Empowerment Funds. Each

Youth Council can draw upon its Fund to invest in projects

that help improve their communities. Under the supervision

of our agency staff, council members assess needs within

their communities by conducting surveys and interviews

with community leaders. Next, they create, review and

select project proposals and recruit peer volunteers to help

them complete the projects.

All told, some 75,800 individuals participated in Youth

Empowerment Fund projects around the world in 2011,

carrying out 94 projects to help improve their surroundings.

Unraveling Life’s Challenges Youth who frequently participate in CI programs stated they have more ability to solve problems than their non-sponsored peers.

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84%of youth who frequently participate claim they have more ability to be a leader.

“Looking Beyond My Own Needs” Whenever Prasanta looks back at the obstacles he has

overcome, he is amazed.

Born and raised in rural West Bengal, India, Prasanta’s

difficulties began early. His father passed away when he

was very young. With no other source of income, his

mother would work late into the nights as a seamstress in

hopes of earning a few rupees to feed her family. Desperate

to provide her son with a good education and a better

way of life, Prasanta’s mother enrolled him in Children

International.

Prasanta not only received the support he needed to

excel in school, he became an active member of the Youth

Program and discovered his natural abilities as a leader.

“Leadership training taught me to look beyond just my

needs and think of the community,” he now reflects. “I have

learnt that the power to make changes, in whatever small

but meaningful way, is there in me.”

Our Youth Leadership Training program teaches

young people like Prasanta essential communication

skills, decision-making and problem-solving abilities,

conflict resolution and critical thinking so they’re ready to

take advantage of any opportunity that comes their way.

Participants receive over 48 hours of training. Then, to

reinforce the skills they’ve learned, they plan and teach

leadership sessions to their peers and carry out service

projects similar to our Youth Councils.

The peer-education approach helps cultivate trust and

enhance the learning process. Dick Roberts corroborates

that fact by citing a fellow expert on education: “In a

learning environment where there is caring of mentors

for students, where mutual respect exists, and where

educational goals are meaningful to the students…the

youngster’s resilience, their ability to solve problems, to

overcome obstacles, and to reach new and previously

unforeseen levels of accomplishment, leaves traditional

education staggeringly far behind.”10

Leadership training gave Prasanta the vision to look

past his circumstances and see a world of possibilities.

“I completed my graduation from Calcutta University and

started studying for a master’s degree in social work,” he

recounts. “I am also working as a program officer…in the

field of child protection and participation. I have made my

mother proud…her boy now works and she doesn’t have to

any longer. It is time for her to celebrate my success.”

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Reaching Potential Through Physical Fitness In underdeveloped countries, the simple act of growing

up can be hazardous to one’s health. UNICEF reports that

nearly 1.4 million young people die each year from road

traffic accidents, violence and other related causes.11

If youth have any hope of reaching their full potential,

they need safe environments where they can build healthy

minds and bodies. Children International launched the

Game On! Youth Sports™ program to give youth a greater

sense of security as they develop physical, social and

life skills.

Game On!, developed by the International Alliance

for Youth Sports, gives youth the chance to compete in

community sports leagues and training, while learning

important principles such as teamwork, conflict resolution

and perseverance. The activities build youths’ confidence

and help unify communities around a shared interest in

local sports. And Game On! coaches and coordinators

serve as positive examples for young boys and girls who

are inundated with negative influences like gang activity,

drug and alcohol abuse and domestic violence.

Although Game On! has only been in operation a few

years, the results reported by CI’s agencies are encouraging.

Youth participants demonstrate improved attitudes and

behavior at home, at school and in their communities,

according to their parents. The participants’ involvement

in school increases as well, as measured by the homework

assignments they complete on time.

Braulio and his mother, Thays, of Cartagena,

Colombia, can testify to that. Braulio enrolled in Game

On! the moment he learned about it. When his mother saw

the positive changes taking place in her son, she joined the

program as a volunteer, along with her husband.

“Among the families of our poor sectors, it is common

to see families with many problems…,” Thays says. “In

the Game On! program, children are taught to value their

families, to strengthen values or to learn them. Children

learn about sports and about how to make friends, and

through kindness, it is made clear to them that on their team

there is unity and fraternity. All these factors make Game

On! a great program for the sponsored children and youth.”

The positive changes youth are experiencing through

Game On! can drastically change their prospects in life as

well. According to the United Nations World Youth Report

2011, the number one tip for young job hunters is to “have

a ‘can do’ attitude, take action and make things happen.”12

With more than 3,500 young people participating in Game

On!, Braulio and his peers are demonstrating that can-do

attitude on a daily basis.

Keeping ScoreIn 2011, Game On! resulted in… increased participation

in school

better behavior at home

greater community participation and area partnerships.

Job Training That Pays Competition for jobs is intense in today’s depressed

global economy, but it can be absolutely demoralizing

for youth in developing countries. Impoverished youth

seldom have career prospects beyond informal jobs as street

vendors, field hands or domestic employees who, more

often than not, have no choice but to work in hazardous

conditions for extremely low pay.

According to a 2010 International Labour Organization

report, as many as 152 million working youth remained in

extreme poverty in households subsisting on less than $1.25

per person per day.13 That figure suggests that many youth

enter the job market without the necessary skills to secure

jobs that pay a living wage. “Vocational or technical training

may be one way to smooth the school-to-work transition

and provide a second chance for those who have emerged

from school without knowledge and skills to get what jobs

are available,” UNICEF suggests.14

Our Into Employment program, implemented in

conjunction with Aide et Action, is using the job-training

model to great success in Latin America and Asia. Youth

attend vocational and technical training to acquire skills that

are highly demanded in their communities, in areas such

as information technology, automotive repair, hospitality

services, cosmetology and electronics. During training, the

youth are matched with participating employers so they can

gain immediate, formal work experience and start earning a

living wage.

“The approach we took,” explains Gordon Bailey,

the chair of Into Employment and a member of Children

International’s Advisory Council, “was to meet with

employers in communities and say, ‘If we’ll train specifically

to what you need, will you give our kids a chance?’ And we

have never met with anything but a positive reaction to that.”

Gordon´s statement is supported by the fact that

97 percent of participants completed training in 2011, with

64 percent of all trainees finding employment within three

97% of Into Employment participants completed training in 2011.

64% of all trainees found employment within 3 months of completing training.

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“This Is Only the Beginning” Cherry is the seventh of nine children in Legazpi, Philippines. Her family’s poverty persists

despite their hard work. In order to finish high school, Cherry worked as a babysitter, student

aide and alongside her mother in the rice fields for extra family income. While she desperately

wanted to continue studying, college was far too expensive. So Cherry gave up the idea and

started selling chicken at a roadside stand. Her dream of becoming a chef seemed unreachable.

Then, a year ago, Cherry received a letter from Children International. After a community

leader noticed her efforts, she was invited to join the Into Employment program, which offered

free vocational training and better job prospects. Suddenly, her dream was revived.

Following three months of training, Cherry passed a national exam and became a certified

hospitality worker. “I felt so happy and blessed that day. I felt that I finally had the chance for

a brighter future.”

Soon after, Cherry began working at an upscale hotel, earning significantly more than

what she made at the roadside stand. “This is only the beginning,” she says. “First, I want to

gain experience working in a hotel. Then perhaps I’ll have experience working in a restaurant.

I’m taking one goal at a time. What’s important is that I am learning. I feel that I can now

create my own opportunities. I have also gained a lot of confidence in facing challenges. This is

all because of Children International’s Into Employment program.”

Stacking It UpYouth who frequently participate believe they are better able to support themselves economically.

months of completing the program. The highest placement

rate was in Bicol, Philippines. By the end of training, nearly

90 percent of trainees were employed in fields such as arc

welding, consumer electronics servicing, and computer

hardware repair.

In countries like the Philippines, Guatemala and

Honduras, where Into Employment has a strong presence

in the communities and receives wide support from local

businesses, youth are exhibiting increased confidence in

themselves and their abilities. The majority of surveyed

youth in those communities firmly believe that they are

better able to support themselves economically.

“When they discover that they can work, and that

work leads to a self-reinforcing accomplishment,” CI

advisor Dick Roberts confirms, “adolescents have a new

and profound sense of what is undoubtedly the most

fundamental job skill, namely the ability to persist in work

through accomplishing goals.”

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Banking on Financial Freedom Our Aflatoun program teaches young people from poor

communities how to save and manage money, conserve

resources, create a business strategy, and plan for the future.

Youth start out by learning basic financial principles

before tackling long-term goals like career planning.

Participants are encouraged to apply what they’ve learned

at home and in their communities and set goals for success.

Many help their families save money by conserving water

and electricity; others launch microenterprise businesses

to sell hand-made crafts, snacks, or perform services for

their neighbors, like running errands or collecting garbage.

Our agencies even work in partnership with local banks to

help Aflatoun participants set up savings accounts and start

exercising financial responsibility at an early age.

These activities have led to promising outcomes. For

instance, in 2011, 79 percent of youth showed improvement

in financial competency and behavior after only one year of

training in planning and budgeting.

Carla’s Story Carla, a 10-year-old participant from Guayaquil, Ecuador, is one of

many notable examples of Aflatoun’s success. She was the first member

of her local group to start saving through the Bancos del Barrio program

offered by Banco de Guayaquil.

Carla set up her savings account using money she earned from selling

crafts. At the same time, she encouraged 22 other children to open formal

bank accounts and helped her parents improve their finances by teaching

them tips for saving. And, as secretary of her Aflatoun club, she promotes

the program at her school and even encourages parents to register their

children for national identification cards – which are needed for all formal

financial transactions – by raising the $3.50 registration fee in creative ways.

In recognition of her efforts, Carla was invited to travel to Amsterdam,

where she was awarded the Youth Champion Award from the global

nonprofit Child and Youth Finance International. Asked what she said to

an international audience when she received the award, Carla replied, “I

said that in Ecuador we have unemployment and salary problems. I told

this to the people from the banks who were there…and asked them about

how they take care of other people’s money and how they keep it safe. A

banker told me that they have secure accounts. I told him that we prepared

piggy banks with recycled material to save our money.”

Only 10%of the 2.5 billion people living on less than $2 a day have access to a bank account.(Source: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)

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Partnerships to End Poverty Bringing an end to poverty takes many different people

working together to build communities that promote growth

and opportunity. With the help of local and international

partners, we continue to expand our programs and enrich

our comprehensive youth curriculum to more effectively

combat poverty.

Our agencies and volunteers cultivate alliances

with area businesses, schools, health facilities, private

organizations and contributors to extend benefits to a

greater number of children and youth in need; while our

emphasis on community engagement helps pave the way for

partnership opportunities with international corporations,

foundations and other institutions.

By working to promote the United Nations Millennium

Development Goals of eradicating poverty by 2015,

Children International has also earned Special Consultative

Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United

Nations and is associated with the UN’s Department of

Public Information.

As a result of that greater recognition, Children

International has been able to secure funding and bolster

a variety of new and existing programs. After receiving a

grant from the Education Development Center by way of

the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID),

we were able to fund our job-training program in Honduras

and place participants in internships to improve their future

employment prospects. The grant also supported program

activities that address violence, drug and alcohol abuse,

gang involvement and other forms of crime that afflict the

communities where our youth participants reside.

Global Partners» Abbot Laboratories» Amway» Barclays Bank» Baskin-Robbins Mexico» Broetje Orchards» Cargill Honduras» Citi Foundation» Coca-Cola Foundation » Colgate Palmolive» GlaxoSmithKline» Hewlett Packard Mexico

» Howard Johnson» HSBC» Kellogg’s Ecuador» Manpower» MetLife» Microsoft» Taj Bengal» Toyota» UNICEF» W.K. Kellogg

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The Power of Participation At the heart of this report is one crucial, underlying

question: “What does it take for young people in developing

countries to work their way out of poverty and achieve a

better way of life?” Judging by the hopeful responses to

our most recent Youth Survey and the positive program

outcomes we achieved in 2011, the answer is clear – the key

to success is participation.

The more involved youth are in Children International’s

Youth Program, the more likely they are to stay healthy,

remain in school, acquire new life skills, and pursue higher

education and job training. As a result, they are developing

greater confidence in themselves and their abilities than

their uninvolved counterparts, which suggests they are

better prepared to become self-sufficient and break free from

poverty once and for all.

But participation isn’t relegated to our youth

alone – reversing the effects of poverty is a joint effort. By

utilizing the combined strengths of our staff, volunteers,

partners and good standing throughout the developing

world, Children International aims to increase program

participation in our comprehensive curriculum from

approximately 30 percent to 60 percent by 2015. Increased

support for programs such as the HOPE Fund, the Youth

Health Corps, Youth Leadership Training, Game On!,

Aflatoun and Into Employment will help ensure that

current and future generations of youth find their way

out of poverty and take charge of the change they

desperately need.

Compared to those who never participated, youth who were actively involved were:

20% more likely to attend a four-year university

33% more likely to have stronger leadership abilities

25% more likely to believe they will reach their goals

28% more likely to possess problem-solving skills

16% more likely to have six or more job skills

20% more likely to believe they have the ability to support themselves economically

25% more likely to stay positive about themselves.

87% of youth report that they have more ability than their non-participating peers when it comes to:

leadership reaching their goals and solving problems staying positive and healthy and supporting themselves economically.



1 UNICEF, “Progress for Children: A report card on adolescents,” p. 3, Number 10, April 2012.

2 World Health Organization, “Children: reducing mortality,” Fact sheet No. 178, February 2012.

3 UNICEF, “State of the World’s Children 2012,” p. 5.



6 El Dia, Dominican Republic, April 9, 2012.

7 Endesa, Centro de Estudios Sociales y Demograficos – CESDEM.

8 UNICEF, “State of the World’s Children 2012,” p. 3.

9 “ What Works in Girls’ Education: Evidence and Policies from the Developing World,”

Barbara Herz and Gene Sperling, Council on Foreign Relations, 2004.

10 Beard, Bonnie. “Resiliency: What we have learned”. WestEd: San Francisco, CA, 2004.


12 United Nations World Youth Report 2011, “Youth Employment: Youth Perspectives on the

Pursuit of Decent Work in Changing Times,” p. 162.

13 International Labour Organization, “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2010,” p. 3.


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Your Turn to ParticipateBy supporting one or more of the following programs in our comprehensive youth curriculum, you can equip impoverished youth with the skills and abilities they need to break free from poverty.

Contact us at 1-800-888-3089, or by email at [email protected], to support one or more of the programs above and play a part in ending poverty for youth around the world.

Game On!Help us create opportunities for children and youth to safely play without fear of gangs and crime, while teaching them the value of teamwork, conflict resolution and perseverance through organized sports.

AflatounPitch in and help impoverished children and youth start saving for the future. More than 8,700 kids are already learning how to better manage their resources. With your help, we can expand the program to thousands more.

The Youth Health CorpsHelp youth throughout the developing world fight diseases like HIV and dengue, reduce the number of teen pregnancies in their communities, curb drug and alcohol abuse, and teach younger kids how to practice good hygiene and avoid illness.

Youth CouncilsEmpower young men and women to play a greater role in their communities by joining democratically elected groups that carry out community-service projects like clean-up campaigns, school improvements and more.

Youth Leadership TrainingGive disadvantaged youth the opportunity to hone communication skills, decision-making and problem-solving abilities, and critical thinking so they can distinguish themselves and rise above their circumstances.

Into EmploymentA computer technician, a welder, a dental hygienist, a chef: impoverished youth can get a job in any of these fields through Into Employment. Help us provide the training they need to secure good jobs and start earning a living wage.

The HOPE FundWith your support, a young woman can be the first in her family to finish high school and go to college…a young man can learn a trade that’s in demand and start earning a living wage…and young children can receive tutoring assistance so they can stay in school.

Documents

2012 Youth Report - Children International